Bioca Mencia Valdeorras DO

Description

Bioca Mencia is a Galician red wine made by Bodegas María Teresa Núñez Vega located in Galicia, north western Spain. The driving forces behind Bioca are Maria Teresa and Celestino Naveira. The Bioca range of wines is produced as DO Valdeorras (literally meaning “Valley of Gold”). Valdeorras was created as a DO in 1945 with the aim of producing quality Galician wine from the region using indigenous grape varieties like Godello and Mencia. Valdeorras DO is located in the south western Galician province of Ourense. Bodegas María Teresa Núñez Vega was founded in 1954 but the first vintage released as Valdeorras DO was only in 2004.

The vineyards for Bioca comprise some 4 hectares situated around the bodega and the vines are located on the well-draining, steep slopes of the streams of the Bioca Oliveda on the left bank of the river Sil. The valley is deep and fertile and the soils are a mixture of granite and slate and clay. The vineyards are also well sheltered which helps protect them from frost and hail. Valedeorras has a Mediterranean Continental climate, with Atlantic influence, and has a cold winters, mild autumn and spring and a warm summer. It also has one of the lowest rainfalls in Galicia. These are ideal growing conditions for Godello and Mencia grapes which form the base of the Bioca wines. In the vineyard the vines are grown on a low input, environmentally friendly basis. There is careful crop management – intense double guyot pruning and continual green harvesting helps to maintain low yields. All picking and grape selection is done by hand and the proximity of the Bodega means that the grapes arrive in the best condition. Bioca Mencia is a blend of 85% Mencia and 15% Tempranillo and Garnacha Tinto.